Calories, proteins are the keys in fighting wasting of Mental Health with HIV and HCV
Maintaining an adequate intake of calories and protein is urgent, in many cases even critical, for people living with HIV, especially those experiencing the involuntary weight loss known as wasting.
Intake of fruits, vegetables and starches may have to be sacrificed to assure that the vital intake of calories and proteins are being met.
To understand the dietary needs of a person fighting wasting, one must first understand the process of wasting. The human body, by weight, is comprised of water, fat, skeleton and “all the rest,” which is the protein component of the body known as lean body mass. That protein is the “living you,” HCV HIV the part that under normal circumstances, constantly wears out and is replaced. Our hair and nails continue to grow, our skin cells slough off, and so it goes throughout the body, even with our organ tissue and blood components, including T-cells.
When, because of inadequate intake or malabsorption, protein needs go unmet, the body cannot perform the vital HCV HIV function of replacing cells lost through natural attrition. Thus, the body’s ability to function becomes compromised. This is HIV wasting.
Wasting is the second most common AIDS-defining condition in America. And even though people who have a lean body mass 10% below ideal can be diagnosed with AIDS, a dip of 3% to 5% below ideal has been shown to be a clinically significant determinant of increased infection. Lean body mass, after all, has been shown to be a more accurate predictor of survival than T-cell counts.
For a man 5′ 10″ tall who weights 165 pounds, total ideal lean body weight is roughly 70 pounds; a 10% loss of lean HCV body mass would amount to 7 pounds. A 3% loss would be a mere 2.1 pounds. Since lean body mass does not necessarily correlate to overall body weight, these changes HIV must be assessed and accounted HIV for. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) is an accurate method of determining this and one of rapidly growing availability.
Some of the challenges people HCV with AIDS face in trying to maintain lean body mass include malabsorption, diminished appetite, financial considerations and even the logistics of preparing food on a regular basis. For the HCV HIV population suffering from wasting, intake of fruits, vegetables and starches may have to be sacrificed to assure that the vital intake of calories and proteins are being met. My advice—toss out the Food Pyramid.
While this may sound drastic, remember that people experiencing wasting burn off calories and protein (macronutrients), much faster than average and that these urgently need to be replenished on a daily basis. HCV HIV Micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and trace elements) are of less critical concern to HIV the survival of wasting HCV. In times of limited food intake, save your apetite to meet your protein and calorie needs and hedge your bets with a vitamin supplement. Read more on how he cured hep c.
Patients with wasting can get the most bang for their buck—calorie wise—by eating fats, because they are the most calorically dense of all nutrition sources. To limit fat intake (as per the food pyramid) during a bout of wasting would be foolish. Protein intake is equally important in the equation for HCV HIV fighting and HIV preventing wasting among HCV HIV-positive people. You can get your protein in eggs. milk and red meat. If you’re not up to eating, a protein drink supplement such as Ensure or Advera will do.
Unfortunately, wasting syndrome involves the body’s inability to use fat as an energy source and to inappropriately use muscle (the body’s own proteins) for energy instead. This is why AIDS patients with wasting should use a growth hormone or anabolic agent which will allow the body to once again use fat as HCV HIV an appropriate fuel and stop the body from cannibalizing itself. The use of these agents HCV HIV should be discussed between the person with AIDS and an AIDS-knowledgeable physician. The advice and counsel of a reputable, HCV HIV-knowledgeable nutritionist can be invaluable, too. Local AIDS service organizations should be able to help with referrals in your area. HCV
A 1991 study by Richard Beech, M.D., of the University of Miami School of Medicine, showed all patients with HCV HIV—both asymptomatic and symptomatic—should take nutritional supplements from the day they are diagnosed, too, because they can have subclinical nutritional deficiencies at any time period.
Here are a few choice eating tips for people combatting wasting
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For the asymptomatic,HCV HIV-positive population, dietary needs are actually more similar to the general public than to the population with AIDS-related wasting. Therefore, asymptomatic people would be best advised to follow the HCV HIV food pyramid, though with an added emphasis on overall increased calorie intake and a regimen of nutritional supplements. This is because even the ostensibly asymptomatic are shown to be hyper-metabolic and therefore have elevated caloric requirements.
The food pyramid guidelines look past a mere day’s events and help set the course for healthy living over a lifetime by promoting a sensible eating plan HCV HIV to meet all of our daily nutrition requirements, including vitamins, minerals, trace elements, proteins, amino acids and essential fatty acids. With new antiretroviral cocktails, people with HCV HIV have the potential to plan for the next 20, even 40 years, so they need to, for example, reduce their fat intake to help prevent coronary heart disease and ultimately a heart attack.
Keep in mind also that HCV HIV is a uniquely individualized disease and accordingly, so are the needs that buttress a person’s survival. These needs, too, can change frequently and dramatically. There is no HCV one best “AIDS Diet” and all of this conceptual shifting can be confusing, especially when one must constantly reassess medications and know how any changes may impact diet and appetite, as well.
On a final note, people have more control of their diet than nearly any other factor affecting their health. To neglect diet is to drastically HCV HIV undermine whatever other efforts are being made to maintain and improve well being. Food is also one of the great opportunities to embrace and participate in life. Enjoy!